



J. E. NORBY.

TRACK LAYING AND RAISING APPARATUS. APPUCA N FILED MMLB. 1919.

,3 1 7,81 3 Patented, Oct. 7, 1919.

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Patented Oct. 7,1919.

J. E, NORBY.

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APPL iCATl0K FILED IIAILB. i919.

Tris nowuu FLAN-OGBAPH co mum-on n c UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN E. NORBY, OF STARK, MONTANA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF T0 GEORGE F. FOX, 0F MISSOULA, MONTANA.

TRACK LAYING AND RAISING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. '7, 1919.

Application filed March 8, 1919. Serial No. 281,419.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOHN E. NORBY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Stark, in the county of Missoula, State of Montana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Track Laying and Raising Apparatus; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The object of the invention is to provide a relatively simple apparatus of comparatively powerful construction and capacity for use in the laying and raising or removing of tracks and other railway road bed equipment, and which while capable of relieving the workmen of all of the heavier or more arduousportions of the necessary labor in connection with the indicated operations may be readily and quickly manipulated and efliciently controlled by a small crew having only a limited training and moderate mechanical skill.

Further objects and advantages will appear in the course of the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, it being understood that. changes in form, proportion and details of construction may be resorted to, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the principles involved.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the complete apparatus.

Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical sectional view.

Fig. 3-is adetail view of the carriage and related hoisting means.

Fig. 4 is a detail plan view showing a convenient arrangement of drums and operating devices in connection with a motor which may be of any well known or pre ferred type.

The apparatus consists essentially of a truck, preferably of the wheeled type so as to be capable of traversing the track rails of a road which is being laid or raised and having, for example a platform 10 such as that ordinarily employed in connection with what are ordinarily termed fiat cars; an overhead longitudinally disposed guide-Way 11 spaced above the plane of the platform 10 a sufiicient distance to permit of readily carrying a load of rails or ties longitudinal-1y of the car or truck and between said guide-way and the platform, said guide-way being extended beyond the extremities of the platform for a distance which may vary under certain conditions and circumstances and may be determined by experience; a carriage 12 arranged to traverse said guideway from end to end and thus pass over the truck longitudinally in the transportation of loads either to or from' the same; and hoisting and carriage operating mechanism connected with the carriage and consisting, as shown in theselected embodiment of the invention, of hoisting means 13, a main or hoisting cable 14, a haul-back cable 15, drums 16 and 17 upon which said cables are reeled, respectively, and an engine 18 or equivalent motor or means for actuating the drums to manipulate the cables.

In order that the longitudinal guide-way provided for the traverse of the carriage may be supported so as to allow for space above the platform through which to convey track equipment, such as rails, ties and the like, and at the same time provide for the necessary rigidity and strength to maintain the loads which may be imposed upon the carriage, there isshown a super-structure or frame work on the platform consisting of a series of transverse parallel upright frames each having side uprights 19 and connecting cross bar 20, and these frames are transversely bracedas at 21 and longitudinally braced as by; means of bars 22 or the equivalents thereof; The uprights and cross bars may consist of I-beams or other selected typesof structural iron elements.

The channel irons 23 facing each other and constituting the guide-way serve as a housing for the carriage so that the wheels or rollers 24 thereof traverse the inturnedlower flanges of said channel irons while thehoisting ClBVlBflBOHSlStlHg of the adjzv cent end of the main or hoisting cable 14 which is terminally connected with the carriage as shown at 25, the fall block 26, and guide pulley 27, may operate between the planes of said channel irons.

In order that the extended terminal portions of the guide-.Wa may have the requisite strength to resist ownward strain when a load is imposed upon the carriage, the frame-work which is mounted upon the truck platform is provided with extensions consisting, for example, of the convergent side beams 28 braced as at 29, and supported by the overhead longitudinal truss braces 30; and the terminal guide pulleys 31 and 32 which are located new extremities of the uide-way and over which extend the haulack and main cables, are protected from contact throu h an excessive movement of the carriage y means of stops or butter blocks 33.

Any suitable means may be provided for controlling the drums which respectively carry the main and haul-back cables, such as hand 0 erated friction levers 34 and 35 and the ot operated brakes 36 and 37, a friction and brake appliance being pro vided for eachdrum so that when one drum is being advanced to reel the cable which is carried thereby the other drum may be subjected to the action of the brake to control the movement of the carriage and maintain at thedesired elevation the load which is suppjorted by the fall block.

0 viously a single operator is able through these devices to manipulate the hoisting and'carriage operating mechanism and thus elevate or lower a load while the carriage remains stationary as in liftin rails or bundles of ties from the road be and in lowering the same upon the platform Of'the' truck or upon a following car, and in maintaining the load at the desired elevation during movement of the carriage longitudinally of the truck either in laying or raisin tracksor in other words either in trans crringma'terials from'the truck or a following car to a point in advance of the truck to supply the workmen who are laying thetraelr,- or in transferring the materials from the road bed to the truck or a following car after the-workmen have withdrawn the'spikesby which the rails are secured to the" cross ties. In operation therefore it is necessary, in addition to the men occupied in either spiking the rails or in detaching the rails fromtheties, to employ, for the operation ofthe apparatus, only the motorman by whomthe movements of the drums are controlled and'a man on the truck to receive the loadsas they are deposited thereon or upon the following ear, or to arran e the loadsto'be' received by the hoistin evices wlre rrthe transfer of material is in t a oppo site direction. It will be noted that the operators and workmen are thus relieved of all of that art of the work of layin or raising traclis which involves the ii ing and carryin of the rails and ties to or from the point 0 use and they can confine their attention entirely to the arrangement of the materials in. preparation for reception by the hoisting devices or after the deposit of the same upon the car or upon the ground representing the site of the proposed track.

It will be understood moreover that the hoisting and carriage operating mechanism herein disclosed is merely typical, it is particularly adapted for the purposes indicated by reason of the ran e of operation which is thereby rovided, in that, for example, the load 0 rails or ties, which may be connected with the fall block in an of the well known ways proposed by rai way men may be elevated at any convenient point beyond one end of the truck and conveyed to any desired point upon the platform of the truck, to be receivedby the latter or may be carried beyond the rear end of the truck platform for deposit upon a car connected with the truck and forming part of the train employed in connection wlth the track laying or raising operation.

Also it Wlll be understood thatthere is opportunity for a wide range of selection in the matter of the type of motor which may be employed for the operation of the drums, as either gasolene, electric, steam or other engines may be employed, and when a steam engine is selected its power may be derived, for example, b means of a steam supply pipe 38 extending from the locomotive of the train.

What I claim is:

1. A track laying and raising apparatus having a track supported truck provided with a longitudinal overhead guideway projecting terminally beyond the truck, a carriage traversing and housed by said guideway, hoisting and haul-back cables connected with the carriage and traversing guide rollers at the extremities'of said guideway, drums located atan intermediatepoint of the ide-way for carryin 7 said cables, and hoisting means supporter? by theca'rriage in cooperation with said hoisting cable.

2. A trac laying and raising apparatus having a track supported truck provided with a longitudinal overhead" guide way projecting terminally beyond the truck and consisting of facin riage traversing an housed by said guideway, and hoistin and carriage op'eratin mechanism consistln of hoisting and hall back cables oonnecte with the carriage and traversin guide rollers at the extremities-of saldgui e-yvay, drums located atoan inter mediate point of theguide-wa-y' for carry-' channel bars, a car ing and o peratin said cables, and means In testimony whereof I aflix my signature, 01- actuatmg saib dll'lums, a. hoisting means in the presence of two witnesses.

eing supported t e carriage in cooperation with said h isting cable, and buifer JOHN NORBY' blocks bein interposed near the extremities Witnesses: of the gui e-way to limit the traverse in P. J. FEARON,

opposite directions of thecarriage. GEORGE F. Fox.

copies 0! this patent may be obtained for live cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

